Finding the Adventure: A Migulio fanfiction
by Zombiechii
Summary: A continuum to the Road To El Dorado movie. Miguel and Tulio struggle with emotions and mending a friendship that may be more than it seems. (MULTIPLE SMUT SCENES RATED M FOR A REASON.)
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The only sound was the waves around them, the gentle rocking of the boat. Perfect serenity. Miguel lay on the deck, arms crossed behind his head, leaning up against Altivo's side. The horse was breathing slowly, asleep. Miguel's blonde hair was tousled by the salty ocean breeze, and he gazed tiredly up at the blue sky overhead. He blinked slowly, and when he opened his eyes again, a face blocked his view of the sky.

"What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be _helping_. This boat isn't gonna get to Spain all on its own." Chel glared down at him, hands on her hips. She pursed her lips unhappily, waiting for him to say something.

Miguel yawned and propped himself up on his elbow, looking back at her with raised eyebrows. "Uh, it kind of is, actually," He nearly snapped at her, unhappy that she disturbed his peace. "The weather is perfect right now. We're sailing on perfect course back to Spain."

Chel shifted her weight from one hip to the other, obviously trying to look intimidating. Miguel rolled his eyes and stood up, "I'm going to go find Tulio," He pushed past her and walked off, going below deck.

Ever since they left El Dorado, it seemed like Chel was giving him more and more of that sassy attitude. And it wasn't like he could complain to Tulio about it - the two were still clearly infatuated with each other. The three of them had stolen Cortez' unattended ship and begun the long journey back to Spain, and Chel had somehow apparently appointed herself to be in charge. Because, yeah, _she_ was the one who knew what she was doing. The woman had never been on a ship like this in her life! And she kept bossing Miguel around. Surely there was an end to the madness coming soon, right?

Miguel sighed heavily, peering around the corner. Below deck it was cool, shaded, and pleasant. Tulio was hunched over a table, finger pinned on a map spread out in front of him, appearing to be deep in thought. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Miguel approached him.

Tulio spun around and smiled when he saw him standing there. That smile tweaked something almost painful in Miguel's heart and he dismissed it, smiling in return.

"Do you, uh, need any help?" He offered, glancing around Tulio at the mess of maps scattered about the table there.

"No, no, we're sailing straight for Spain. I recalculated just now. We should arrive in just a few days."

"Oh... well, that's great!" he laughed happily and wandered over to a storage barrel sitting in the corner, lifting the lid off and withdrawing a bright red apple. There had never been a more perfect ship to steal than this one. There was rations stored for a crew of twenty men, and the three of them plus Altivo had food and water enough for them to practically feast the entire voyage back to Spain. He took a bite out of the apple, watching curiously as Tulio returned to hunching over the map.

He felt helpless, although it wasn't like there was anything he could really be doing. They'd found cards and darts, but those could only be entertaining for so long. Miguel often found himself extremely bored, spending most days wasting away the hours on deck napping with Altivo. He could only imagine how distressing this must be for the poor horse, being confined to this ship for days on end. At least Tulio could focus on mapping out their course and such. He'd become a sort of captain to them, which was suitable considering he knew more about sailing than Miguel did, and _certainly_ more than Chel did.

And here came Chel now, swaying those hips of hers, wearing that cocky smirk on her face as she waltzed up to Tulio, snaking her arms over his shoulders and kissing his cheek. Miguel froze mid-chew and felt his stomach sink at the sight.

"I guess I'll just go, then," he announced dejectedly, slipping away and going back on deck. Neither of them even looked up at him, too engrossed in each other.

"Hey, Altivo, old boy, want some apple?" He offered the half-eaten fruit to the horse, who took it from his palm excitedly, munching away. Miguel left the horse to his treat and wandered up to the captain's cabin, sitting in the luxurious seat once reserved for Cortez himself.

He leaned back in the chair with yet another heavy sigh, trying to push the image of Chel and Tulio out of his mind. Seeing the two of them together always made him feel awful.

_Forget Miguel_. Those words played over and over in his head, ever since that day he'd walked in on Chel and Tulio talking about going to Spain. Together. Without him. Of course, he and Tulio had been on far worse terms than now at that time. But still, to even think that his friend, his partner, would have even considered leaving him behind... all for that girl. All for _Chel_. What did Tulio really see in her anyways?

He hated to admit he was jealous of how much time Chel got to spend with Tulio. Before Chel had come into their lives, the two of them had spent all of their time together, pulling off cons and making a living. Now, it was like their friendship had never been as strong as Miguel thought it was.

Muffled laughter told him that the couple had come up from below deck and were now sitting with Altivo, as the horse gave a small neigh in greeting to them. Miguel held his face in his hands, reluctant to go join them. That would just result in him sitting there, ignored, basically alone. He longed for the times when it was just him and Tulio. Maybe when they got back to Spain, she would be out of their lives again, and go her own way.

There it was again - that painful twinge in his heart. He slumped forward and leaned his head of the large desk in front of him, frowning.

"Miguel, why so lazy? Did you even offer at all to help Tulio? You know, he works hard studying the maps every day." Chel steps into the cabin, surprising him. He kept his head turned away from her, not even dignifying her with eye contact.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. Maybe if you actually paid attention around here, and got your tongue out of Tulio's mouth, you'd realize he can map our course just fine without me," he grumbled. Chel gasped and stood in the doorway for a moment, like she was searching for the right words, before Miguel heard her footsteps stomping away.

"That wasn't very polite."

_Oh, shit..._

Tulio's bitter words met his ears and Miguel cringer, turning slowly to look at him. "You heard that?"

"Yeah, I did." Tulio crossed his arms, although the expression on his face wasn't as sour as Miguel had expected it to be. "Why do you talk like that to her? You two have been bickering more and more lately. Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, you kind of did," Miguel pouted, "Me. Every opportunity we might've had to just relax, talk about old times, come up with some new cons for when we reach Spain again... You spend every waking moment with that girl and she treats me like rat piss."

"No she-"

"I know she didn't want me to come," Miguel told him, "She doesn't want me here. And I'm really starting to think that _you_ don't want me on this voyage, either. I should've stayed in El Dorado. At least they accepted me there."

"They only accepted you because we _lied_ to everyone about being gods. What would you have done when everyone found out? You couldn't have kept up the illusion forever."

"The chief knew. I know he figured it out. He didn't care."

"That's just the chief. What about everyone else? When they stopped thinking you were a god, they wouldn't have needed you anymore. But Miguel... _I_ need you."

Miguel's eyes grew wide but he quickly tried to hide his surprise. "No, you don't. You never need my help at all. I'm just a muscleman to you. All I ever get to do is work the sails, and that's hardly any work considering we've had fair weather almost the entire trip."

"I need you..." Tulio repeated stubbornly, more quiet this time. He looked crestfallen, defeated. Miguel felt horrible for making such a distressed expression like that ever play across his best friend's face.

"I need _you_," he retorts back at Tulio, "You never pay any attention to me. What happened to partners? I could fall overboard and neither you nor Chel would notice for days."

"That's not true!" Tulio blurted, taking a step closer to him.

"I..." he trailed off, turning away to hide the hurt in his own face, "I'll just go my own way when we reach Spain. You won't have to worry about me anymore, alright? We can stop kidding ourselves. Chel is more important to you. You two can go get married and never see me again."

"Miguel, I - !"

"You said we should arrive in just a few days, right?" He cut him off, "That gives me some time to plan what I'm going to do when we're back home." He got up from the captain's chair and moved to pass Tulio and leave the cabin. Just as he passed him, Tulio unexpectedly reached out and grabbed the fabric of his sleeve. Miguel spun around to face him, "What do you want, Tulio?" He felt ridiculously close to tears with how upset and frustrated he was right now, and all he wanted was to get out of there and find some privacy.

"Please don't do this. Don't be this way. Look, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. But... we're partners! What about the cons? The adventure?" The look in his eyes was almost pleading.

"I can see that your adventure lies with Chel these days. It's okay. I hope you two are very happy together."

"Miguel - "

"_Forget Miguel._" He spat back at him, and Tulio's eyes grew wide with shock at his own words.

"You heard - "

"Yeah, I did. Now please, just... let go of me." He pulled away from Tulio's grip and left the cabin. He all but ran below deck to the sleeping chambers, burying his face in a pillow and choking back tears.

Tulio stood in the captain's cabin, alone, still staring at the door, wishing Miguel would reappear there. Instead, Chel entered, grinning at him, "There you are. You look upset. What did Miguel do to you?" She held his face in her hands, gazing at him with concern.

"Nothing... it's what _I_ did to _him_... I'm sorry, I have to go find him. There's a lot I have to say right now... even if he is angry with me. Wait here." He brushed past her out of the cabin into the sunlight of the upper deck. Altivo whinnied at him and he patted the horse fondly, looking around for Miguel. When he was nowhere to be seen on deck, Tulio made his way to the lower level and crept through the shadows. He heard a faint noise from the sleeping chambers and went in that direction, rounding the corner to see Miguel curled up on a cot all alone.

"Miguel?" He called out, approaching him.

"Just... Please just go away, Tulio. You've already done enough. I'm sure Chel is missing you." He wiped his eyes, and Tulio wondered if he'd actually been crying. That thought made his chest tighten, and he knelt beside the cot.

"Chel doesn't need to be here right now. I told her to wait in the cabin. I want to talk to you right now, not her."

"What's there to talk about, Tulio?" Miguel sat up slowly, his eyes full of sorrow. "I told you I'd get out of your hair. You and Chel can go be happy. Please just go."

"You don't really want me to go right now." Tulio said stubbornly, not moving an inch.

"You..." Miguel curled his knees up his chest and buried his face, "You're right. I don't. But seeing as how being around keeps causing me more and more pain... I think you should just go."

"I'm not leaving."

"Tulio," Miguel looked up at him, and Tulio could see very plainly that there were tears in his eyes, waiting to fall. The way Miguel's voice trembled made Tulio pause. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, and finally, with a heavy sigh, Tulio stood back up and began to walk away. Just before rounding the corner, he glanced back over his shoulder to see Miguel had curled up on the cot again with his back to him.

The coast of Spain was visible on the horizon within the next day and a half. Miguel stood up in the crow's nest and stared at the city ahead of them, feeling excited and sorrowful all at once. In the next hour or so, they were close enough to make out buildings and people. And finally, they pulled the massive ship into the port.

Miguel clambered down from the crow's nest and climbed onto Altivo's back. On horseback he slipped off the ship unseen by the others, pushing through the crowd of people that had formed around the ship. Everyone was expecting Cortez and his men to be returning on that ship with treasures from El Dorado and tales of adventure. That wasn't a disappointed crowd that Miguel was willing to deal with right now.

"I regret to inform you," He heard Tulio shouting to the crowd, "That our captain Cortez and the remainder of our crew vanished on the land we discovered, on the journey to the evidently nonexistent land of El Dorado." The crowd collectively gasped. "We were the only survivors, and we return on the brink of life, exhausted, empty-handed."

Miguel snickered, amazed that the crowd was buying the whole lie. But considering Cortez and his men were stranded on that island, unable to reach El Dorado and now lacking a ship, they would probably never be heard from again. Just as Tulio and Chel were making their own way down the ramp off the ship, he gently kicked Altivo's side and the horse set off at a steady trot, taking them farther away. He looked back and saw that Tulio was searching the crowd, finally noticing that Miguel had vanished. Chel held onto his hand tightly, taking in the sight that was beautiful Spain. Miguel glared at her, her hand laced in Tulio's, and then ushered the horse onward.

"Miguel!"

"He's gone, he obviously - "

"Miguel!_ Miguel!_" Tulio shoved his way through the throng of people around the ship, frantically searching for the familiar blonde hair and red shirt he knew so well. Their horse, Altivo, was also nowhere in sight. Where had he gone? Was he okay?

"Tulio, he clearly just left us here. He doesn't even care about you."

"He..." Tulio stumbled out of the crowd, scanning the streets in every direction. "He didn't..." He sank to his knees, distraught. Miguel had said he would leave... but Tulio himself had asked him not to. He needed him, Miguel was his best friend! "He didn't even say goodbye."

"He's just being cold-hearted."

"Don't you talk about him like that!" Tulio spun around to face Chel, leaping back to his feet. She cringed back at his tone and he leaned near to her face, eyes narrowed. "He left because of _you_. I've been spending all of my time with you... and I completely forgot about my best friend. My partner..." He backed away from her, eyes still darting back and forth, hoping to spot Miguel.

"_Me_?" Chel threw her hands up, "You gotta be kidding me. Well, fine. Let him leave. If _he_ still thought you were best friends, he wouldn't have disappeared like that. And he took the horse! How are we supposed to get anywhere?"

"I need to find him," Tulio said determinedly, ignoring her harsh words. He started off down the street at a fast pace, not caring if Chel followed or not. Footsteps behind him, indicated that she was. He stormed through the streets, quickening his pace until he was going at a steady run. Every blonde-haired man he saw, he hurried to catch up to. But every face was a stranger. Eventually the frustration got the better of him, and he stopped abruptly, panting.

"He's _gone_, Tulio." Chel stopped beside him, gazing at him earnestly. "Please can we just find somewhere to stay? Don't you have a home here to go to?"

Tulio sank down against a stucco wall, slumping forward and resting his face in his hands. "No... there's nowhere. Don't you think I would've checked there first for him? When we left Spain we'd just been living out of barns. Stealing from farms and living off cons..." He sighed heavily, "I don't know where to look. I can't lose him. He's too important to me."

"Come on, Tulio, can we please, please, just find somewhere? I'm so tired. I just want to rest." Chel knelt down, trying to meet his eyes.

"There's an inn down the road that accepts work for pay. Ya know, help them out with cleaning and such. We can stay there until we come up with some money." His voice was nearly void of all emotion, and he barely shifted to look through his fingers at her.

"Too bad we lost all that gold, huh? We could afford any place we wanted."

"Yeah, well, the gold is gone. And so is Miguel."

Chel rolled her eyes. "We can look for Miguel more tomorrow if you want, okay? Can we please just go to that inn?"

"You go to the inn. I have to keep looking. I have to find him. I feel so awful. I pushed him away and now he's gone. What if I never see him again? I can't let that happen. I just can't. I would never forgive myself. He means so much to me."

"Just come with me. You can look later."

"Chel. I said I have to _look for him_." Tulio pushed himself up to his feet, glaring at her now. "I'll meet you at the inn later. Just go. I have to find him. I can't believe he just... left like that."

She looked like she wanted to argue more, but finally she gave up. "Fine. Bye." She whipped around and strutted off in the direction of the inn, leaving Tulio standing there alone.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Miguel was rudely awakened by Altivo nudging his shoulder roughly. He grumbled and rubbed his eyes, pushing strands of hair out of his face and scratching at his goatee absentmindedly. Pale sunlight illuminated the area slightly, and he examined his surroundings, memories of the past day coming back to him gradually.

He'd made the decision to leave the ship before Tulio and Chel could notice. Left them behind. Left _Tulio_ behind. It had taken all of his willpower not to go running back, but he felt that he'd made the best choice. Tulio would be much happier spending the rest of his life with Chel, and now Miguel would never interfere with their relationship again. He could start his life anew in Spain, and hopefully move on.

But how could he ever move on? How long would it take? Would he ever truly forget everything that he'd been through with Tulio? All of the adventure... all of the glorious days spent in the city of gold, the legendary El Dorado... He didn't _want_ to forget it. His days with Tulio had been the best of his life. It would take a lot of focus to just let all of that go.

Altivo nudged him again, more impatiently this time, snapping him out of his thoughts. Miguel twisted around, patting the horse gently. "You hungry, Altivo, old boy? Let's go get you some apples. We own that ship now, you know? We can still help ourselves to everything on board."

Altivo whinnied excitedly at the word 'apple', pushing Miguel to his feet. Man and horse crept out of the cold alley they'd ended up sleeping in, and Miguel mounted the horse. They trotted along slowly, and Miguel tried his best to get the kink out of his neck from sleeping on the hard ground. It wasn't like he'd never stayed the night outside before, but it had sure been a while.

He guided the horse back towards the Spanish port where the massive ship awaited, unmoving. When they were near enough, he dismounted Altivo and the two of them boarded the ship, heading below deck towards where the food barrels still sat idly. He opened up one of the apple barrels and let Altivo feed from it freely, moving over to find some slightly stale bread for his own breakfast.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Altivo. But I feel like you're really my responsibility. I'm the reason you ended up coming to El Dorado with us in the first place. I should take care of you, right?"

The horse, unsurprisingly, did not reply. He continued to munch away, enjoying the apples. Miguel laughed half-heartedly and leaned against the bread barrel, chewing each bite leisurely.

He tried to plan what he might do to start off his new life, but all he could think of was Tulio. The echo of his voice calling out Miguel's name, the frantic tone of his voice...

Miguel shook his head angrily, attempting to force the thought from his mind. If only nothing had ever changed. If only they had never used those loaded dice and gotten a hold of that map... they never would have found the city of El Dorado and never would have met Chel. That thieving woman would have remained an unknown stranger to them forever. Maybe then his friendship with Tulio never would have changed. They would've figured a way to get back to Spain and picked up life right where they left off.

"Oh, Tulio, I wish things hadn't gone the way they did. El Dorado was our adventure... And now..." He whispered into the air and took another bite of bread, "Now the adventure is gone." He trembled with the threat of tears and used all of his effort to regain his composure, although nobody was there to see him possibly break down aside from the horse.

"What happened to the adventure, Tulio?"

Tulio blinked his eyes slowly, coming to wakefulness. He stretched and yawned , trying to remember what had happened to him.

He'd staggered through the streets of the Spanish city, crying out for Miguel, getting more desperate by the minute. Where could he have gone? Where could he possibly be staying? Was he really _hiding_ from Tulio? He just wanted to find his friend and apologize and make everything better. He didn't want to lose the most important person in his life.

He'd even gotten desperate enough to stop a few passerby and ask if they'd seen someone that fit Miguel's description. A few of them had actually pointed him in a particular direction, but most people had just shrugged and apologized for not being able to help.

He'd wandered around for hours, fighting off the exhaustion sinking in. Finally, his tired eyes couldn't handle searching anymore. Instead of going to the inn to meet up with Chel like he'd said he would, he'd made his way to the ship, since he was closer to the port than the inn, and he was too frustrated and tired to walk back to the inn. Besides, he was upset enough with Chel right now, he didn't really want to face her until he had to.

Now here he found himself, stretched out on a cot in the sleeping chambers below deck.

"_What happened to the adventure, Tulio?"_

"It's like I can hear his voice, here with me..." he groaned to himself, rubbing his temple. Should he continue searching today? That was a dumb question - of course the search would go on. He could never allow himself to stop looking. He was determined to find Miguel and fix everything between them.

"_Come on, Altivo, let's go."_

He perked up this time, confused. There it was again. Could it be...

"M-Miguel?" he whispered, leaping up out of the cot with excitement.

"Miguel!" he shouted when his first call received no reply. He ran out of the sleeping chambers and skidded to a halt when he turned the corner.

There he was. Right there. Standing there in front of him, right there, oh god, what a wonderful sight it was, what relief he was feeling right now...

"Miguel..." he sighed, feeling something stir inside of his chest.

"Tulio, what are you-?!" Miguel gasped and the apple he was eating fell to the floor with a soft thud and rolled away.

He was cut off by Tulio closing the short distance between them and throwing his arms around Miguel forcefully, trapping him in a tight, relieved embrace.

"Don't you _ever_ decide to disappear like that again. I told you, Miguel... I told you... I need you. _I need you_. How many times do I have to say it?"

"You... You don't understand," Miguel stammered, limp in his arms, clearly debating whether or not to fight his way out of Tulio's grasp or not.

"Then tell me. Help me understand, Miguel. I can't lose you."

"You say you need me... But... you don't need me in the same way I need you. You don't get it. You want me in your life for different reasons... Please just... let me leave. It hurts."

"I don't want to hurt you. Don't go again."

"Seeing you with Chel hurts me. I... Look, I'm jealous, okay? I'm jealous. And when you're kissing her, when she's close to you, and I just don't exist to you... It..." He wriggles free of Tulio's arms now, turning away, his face flushing red. "It hurts my heart."

"Miguel, what are you saying?" Tulio's mind was swirling with confusion, and he couldn't tear his eyes off of Miguel, fearful that if he looked away, he'd disappear again.

"I... I..." He hung his head, avoiding eye contact. "I feel differently about you than you might think... I was very confused at first about it, I tried to deny it... But I figured it out. And leaving was the best thing for me to do. I'm sorry."

"What...? Miguel, you're making no sense." Tulio reached for him again, resting one hand on Miguel's shoulder and gripping his chin with the other. He raised Miguel's face up and locked eyes with him. "What do you mean?"

"I..." He mumbled something quietly, blushing bright red again.

"What? Miguel, please tell me. I don't understand. I feel so awful. I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention to you as much... at all... anymore. I'm begging you, please just tell me what's really going on here."

Miguel met his eyes, looking more distressed than Tulio had ever seen him before. The two of them were so close to each other that their noses were nearly touching, and he could feel Miguel's breath on his face. His chin was trembling in Tulio's light grip.

"Don't make me say it."

"Whatever it is, I want to hear it."

"Tulio... I just. Look, I don't even know, okay? I don't understand. I just know that my thoughts have changed. I don't know when it started, but I really started to notice all these weird new feelings when we were in El Dorado."

Tulio froze, gradually understanding what Miguel was hinting at. He felt his own cheeks get hot but stayed right where he was, centimeters from Miguel's face.

"Miguel... are you saying... you have... romantic feelings... for me?"

The beet-red color of Miguel's face now suggested he hit the right mark. Embarrassed, Miguel tried to pull away, but Tulio tightened his grip on Miguel's chin.

"T-Tulio? What are you doing?"

"You just assumed those feelings were, what, a burden? Were you never going to tell me? Without even asking me... if... if I felt the same way at all?"

Miguel's eyes widened, "Do... _Do_ you?"

"I..." Tulio sighed. "I... I don't know. There's one way to find out."

"What's tha - " He was cut off as Tulio unexpectedly pressed his lips to Miguel's somewhat forcefully. Miguel all but melted and Tulio wrapped a sturdy arm around his waist to hold him up as the kiss softened. They broke apart, both of them breathing hard now.

"T-Tulio...?" Miguel stuttered, touching his fingers to his lips delicately, "What... What..."

Tulio's face had gone blank. He looked down at his shoes and then sat down slowly, feeling like if he remained standing much longer he would faint. Miguel looked down at him, seeming confused and somewhat alarmed. Tulio tried to speak, but could find no words.

_What just happened? _He ran a hand through his tangled black hair. _Did I just... What just... Do I really feel that way for Miguel? _

"I never knew... that you might feel like that... for me," Miguel whispers. He sank down to his knees in front of Tulio and leans forward so that their foreheads are touching. Tulio can feel Miguel's heavy breath moving his hair slightly. He moved his eyes up to notice that silent tears were sliding down Miguel's cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, frowning.

"I... You..." He smiled, chuckled half-heartedly, and then sobbed. "What's happening here? What does this mean?"

"It means..." Tulio placed his hands on Miguel's face, "That I feel the same way as you do."

"You do?" Miguel couldn't hide the excitement in his tone.

"Yes...Yes, I think so."

"Oh... Tulio... I can't believe it... I don't even know how to react... But... But..." His smile abruptly fades and he looks at Tulio with watery eyes, "What about you and Chel?"

"Yeah, Tulio, what about _you and Chel_?_" _A snide voice came unexpectedly from behind them, and the two men whipped around to see none other than Chel herself standing at the foot of the stairs, leaning against a pillar. She looked like she was fighting back tears, arms crossed in front of her.

"Chel?" Tulio reached towards her and stood up, but she cringed away from him.

"Don't touch me! You don't think I didn't see what just happened?!" She moved out of his reach, backing up the stairs slowly. "You never came to the inn so I got worried and went looking for you. And I find _this_?"

"Chel, I'm sorry, let me explain - "

"No need for an explanation, I 'm not blind and I'm not deaf." She stormed away, leaving Tulio dumbstruck and staring after her. After a moment, he turned back around to see that Miguel was still sitting on the floor, staring down at the floor.

"What happens now, Tulio?"

"What?"

"Was that kiss just a one-time thing? Are you going to go after her? Or are you going to stay... with me?"

Tulio glanced back over his shoulder at where Chel had been standing, then back at Miguel, feeling awful because no matter which decision he made, someone was going to be hurt by his actions.

"It's okay, really," Miguel put on an obviously forced smile, "You can go after her. I just want to know, is it her, or me?"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Miguel's heart had never felt such a strong surge of emotions before. With every beat, his veins caught fire. Every cell in his body burned with passion right now, and as the words _is it her, or me?_ slipped from his lips, it was like the fire had turned to stone. Waiting. Weighing him down. He felt as if he might sink straight through the bottom of the ship and drown in the waters below.

It pained him how fake the smile on his own face was. But he wanted to smile, wanted Tulio to be happy, no matter what. He'd been willing to disappear before, he could still do so if Tulio wanted to be with Chel. After all, _he_ was the one cutting into their relationship right now. He had no right to force any particular decision on Tulio.

He braced himself, preparing for Tulio's response. With every passing second of silence, the pain in his chest spread until it felt like his heart couldn't stand to beat any longer. He watched closely as Tulio opened his mouth, then closed it again, still silent.

Finally, Miguel's own mouth let loose words which felt like poison on his tongue, a question he had to ask, although he dreaded the answer. "You want to go after her, don't you?"

Tulio remained silent. But Miguel could see how much it pained him to stay there.

"Just... say it. Tell me before you go. Tell me you want her instead of me and I'll leave you alone. We can pretend that kiss never happened and I'll never bother you again." He furiously wiped at his eyes, feeling foolish for allowing tears to fall.

"Miguel, I..." Tulio sighed, "I don't know. This is all happening so fast right now. I had no idea you felt that way. I had no idea _I_ felt that way at all... And I think I should find Chel and give her a real explanation."

"Just... answer the question, Tulio," Miguel pleaded, "Her, or me?"

"Miguel, stop it, I can't make this decision right now - "

"_Her or me?_" Miguel choked out, raising his voice now. Every shred of his soul was waiting for an answer. Any answer. He needed to hear it. Needed to know what happened next.

"God damnit, Miguel, stop it!" Tulio shouted, standing over him. "I don't have an answer right now, okay? But I will. This is something I need to figure out. Don't look at me like that. You don't think this is hard for me, too? You disappeared on me, made me feel like the most awful friend on the planet, and then you spring it on me that you have these _feelings_ for me!"

"_You _kissed _me_!" Miguel retorted with a soft sob. What could he do right now that would make this situation any better? He'd made Tulio angry with him, and seeing his enraged face, hearing his raised voice, made Miguel cringe away when Tulio stepped closer to him.

"Miguel..." Tulio knelt back down in front of him, "Please don't cry." he brushed away the tear sliding down Miguel's cheek. "I care about you. A lot. I care about you in ways that I never really thought about until now because they didn't make sense. Everything's getting a little less blurry now. But I don't want to hurt Chel, and I sure as hell don't want to hurt you. I can see I'm hurting you right now...and... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Miguel. Please, try to understand."

"Okay..." Miguel swallowed the lump in his throat, "I'll... go with you to talk to Chel. It's my fault this all happened. I should help explain it to her."

"It's not your _fault_. It wasn't anything bad. But thank you. We should be able to find her at the inn she and I were supposed to be staying at." Tulio stood up and extended his hand to help Miguel up. He took it, enjoying the brief moment during which their fingers intertwined.

The two of them ascended the stairs to the upper deck, followed by a content Altivo, belly full of apples. The sun beat down on them and Miguel rubbed his eyes, fighting off the dry feeling that resulted from crying. Once they were off the ship, the two men rode on Altivo's back down the cobblestone streets, not speaking, and stopped once they found themselves in front of the old inn.

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Tulio asked as he tied Altivo to a post. "She's going to be furious. I don't want you to be more upset because of her."

"I'm sure," Miguel said firmly, sliding off the horse's back.

They pushed through the creaky door and entered the inn, walking up to a man sweeping the floor off to the side of the room.

"Excuse me, sir," Tulio cleared his throat, approaching the man, "Did you seen a woman come through here not very long ago? Long, black hair? Dark skin?"

"Oh, yes, she's in room four. Go up those stairs there to reach the rooms."

"Thank you, sir," Tulio responded politely before quickly heading for the stairs, Miguel following close behind.

"Here it is," Tulio announced as they neared the door with a peeling number 4 painted on it. Miguel focused on controlling his breathing, forcing himself to stay strong right now. Tulio needed him, it was his responsibility to be supportive. Tulio knocked on the door a few times and waited.

"Chel?" He called out, frowning. His hand brushed Miguel's, and Miguel gave it a reassuring squeeze just before the door flew open. There stood Chel, fuming, glaring at the two of them standing there.

"What do you want, Tulio?" she snarled. "Why did you bring _him_ here?" She gestured towards Miguel, who held his gaze level with hers.

"Chel, I came here to talk," Tulio told her, pushing into the room. Miguel slipped inside just before Chel slammed the door shut.

"What could you possibly say right now that doesn't end with me still being _furious_ with you?" she grumbled. "Haven't you already done enough? Now you come in here parading your new _toy_ here in front of me."

"Don't talk about him that way," Tulio warned her.

"Oh, whatever. Miguel had been nothing to horrible to you lately and now you decide you would rather be with _him_ than me?" Her lip was trembling, and her watery eyes showed them that she was battling tears.

"He hasn't been horrible to me at all. _I'm_ the one who ignored him. _I_ was the one who was completely blind to his feelings and _I'm_ the one who was hurting him."

"Well, what do _he_ have to say for himself?" Chel spun around to face Miguel now, crossing her arms. "You've always been getting between Tulio and I. Now you're stealing him from me. Tulio is the most wonderful person I've ever had in my life. I love him. I would do anything for him. Can you say the same?"

Miguel felt his face go hot and he tried his best to stand tall. He was very aware of how closely both of them were watching him now, especially Tulio. _Breathe, Miguel, just breathe._ "Well, I know that he is the most important person in my life right now. He always has been, in my past, and always will be, in the future. We've had so many good times together that I've lost count. Every day with him, my life is an adventure. I cherish his smile more than anything else, and I would sacrifice anything if it meant I could make him happy. Maybe that's dumb, but It's true. I care about him more than I ever thought I could care about anyone. We're partners. I could say I love him, but it wouldn't be exactly true. What I feel isn't love. It's more than that. And I'm sorry that my emotions ended up hurting you, Chel. But Tulio means more to me than anyone, and I couldn't lie to myself about it any longer."

He took a deep, ragged breath and steadied his composure. Chel was staring at him, dumbstruck, and Tulio's face was even more shocked than hers. The silence crept over his skin like frost, and he waited anxiously for one of them to speak.

"... I see." Chel whispered at last. She lowered herself into a nearby chair and sighed. "Tulio?"

"What?" Tulio tore his eyes away from Miguel to turn to her.

"Do you feel that way, too? Is that how you think of Miguel?"

_Is it?_ Miguel wondered.

"I... well... Perhaps not in the same words... But... Yeah, I think so. I really feel that way."

"I see," she repeated, running her fingers through her hair. "Well... I guess that's... just it. That's how this goes. We finally arrive in Spain and I'm being abandoned in a strange country with all these things I've never seen before in my life. Do you have any idea how terrifying this all is to me? But the entire voyage here I kept thinking, oh, it's going to be fine, I have Tulio. Everything will be okay as long as I have Tulio with me. And now..." She was full-on crying now, her cheeks glistening wet with tears. "Now, I guess, I'll figure it out on my own."

"Chel - " Tulio began, but she cut him off.

"Just go. I realize that you two want to be with each other. I'm not going to force myself on you or try to keep you apart. But... I can't forgive this. _Just go._ Don't try to find me after today. I don't ever want to see you again. Either of you." She stood up and opened the door, holding it open. Her voice dripped with anger and sorrow, making Miguel feel even more horrible about himself.

"Get _out!_" She finally spat when they still didn't move. Tulio grabbed Miguel's sleeve and the two of them hurried out of the room. The door slammed hard behind them, and they could hear Chel sobbing on the other side.

_What have I done?_ Miguel wondered, feeling his stomach twist.

"Come on, let's leave. There's nothing else we can do." Tulio ushered him back downstairs, and the tone in his voice suggested he felt as awful as Miguel did.

"I'm so sorry..." Miguel breathed as they mounted Altivo once more, guiding the horse away from the inn. He was sitting behind Tulio, and now he rested his face in between Tulio's shoulders, fresh tears dripping onto the fabric of his black vest.

"Don't apologize, Miguel."

"But I feel so awful."

_Clip, clip. Clip, clop. _They rode on for a few more minutes, where the only sound came from the horse's hooves.

"Miguel?"

"Yeah?"

"All that stuff you said... did you really mean it?"

"Of course."

"All of it?"

"Yes. All of it. You mean so much to me, Tulio..."

Tulio laughed, one of those soft chuckles that bubbles up from a thought.

"What is it, Tulio?"

"Oh, nothing," he insisted, dismissing whatever it was. "Come on, I think we can stay here. Looks as vacant as it did before we left." He urges Altivo to halt and they both dismount the horse, staring at the stout stucco building in front of them.

It was one of the few places they're been able to stay in on a regular basis, because it had been abandoned years ago and had become filthy and overgrown with weeds. But it had a sturdy foundation and got them out of the weather, so they often chose it as a temporary home. Inside, it was slightly more appealing, having not been exposed to the elements the same way the exterior had. It was no temple, but it was in good shape considering nobody was living there and attending to the cleaning duties regularly.

"Well, it's not like El Dorado..." Tulio remarked as they entered. "But it's better than nothing." He moved around the small house, popping in and out of each cramped room. "Um, we have a slight problem. Looks like rats got to one of the mattresses."

"What?" Miguel followed him into the tiny bedroom, which contained two dusty beds. Usually, this was good enough, but now one of the beds appeared shredded and covered in filth. Miguel wrinkled his nose at the sight. "Oh."

"I guess... we can share the one bed. It's big enough for the both of us, right? Don't you think?" Tulio moved over to the bed that was still in good condition and kicked his shoes off before he flopped down on it, laying with his arms crossed behind his head. He looks up at Miguel and scooted over, "Here, let's see."

Miguel slowly crossed the room and paused by the side of the bed before removing his own shoes and laying down on the mattress beside him. "Well, um, I guess we both fit. Barely."

"Well, we'd fit better if we just spread out less. See?" Tulio scooted closer to him so that they were both in the center of the bed, centimeters from touching. Miguel blushed and he turned away, trying to push the inappropriate thoughts from his mind that spawned from such closeness.

"Yeah... You're right," he said, and, boldly, moved to rest his head on Tulio's chest. He could heart the soft heartbeat under his ear, which suddenly sped up at an alarming rate.

"Whoa, you're heartbeat just got a lot faster," Miguel commented.

"Well, um, uh, Miguel, your hand..."

Miguel's eyes trailed down his own shoulder to his arm, and he froze. When he'd rolled over to place his head on Tulio's chest, he'd shifted his arm, which resulted in his hand now resting on the upper part of Tulio's inner thigh.

He gasped and instantly yanked his hand away, trying to ignore the familiar tightening in his groin. "I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - "

Tulio laughed, "I didn't say it was a _bad_ thing, there's no need to apologize. It just surprised me, that's all."

"O - okay." He could feel how bad he was blushing.

Tulio laughed again and moved so that he was laying on his side, facing Miguel. "You don't have to be nervous around me anymore."

"Um, alright," Miguel stammered, not sure what he should be anticipating at the moment.

"Stop looking so... afraid," Tulio smiled and leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Uh... huhhh..." Miguel swallowed a breath of air, feeling his own heart pumping fast now. "It's... _wow_ it's hot in here..." He fanned his face, trying desperately to make himself calm down.

"It is, isn't it?" Tulio sat up, slipping his vest off and pulling his dusty blue shirt off over his head. Miguel's mind was spinning, and it took all of his effort to control his breathing. Tulio tossed the clothing onto the floor beside the bed and laid back down. His tanned skin rippled with muscles that had begun to develop during their stay in El Dorado. Miguel stared, and found himself reaching out to place a hand on Tulio's chest.

Tulio grabbed his hand by the wrist, "Look what you do to me," he said, guiding Miguel's hand down until it was between his legs. Under the thin fabric, Miguel could feel his fresh erection. Tulio moved his other hand over the blonde man's belt, working the clasp and slipping it off through the loops.

He then slid his hand under the fabric and wrapped his cool fingers around Miguel's own erection, making him flinch in surprise. Tulio chuckled and undid his own belt with his free hand, guiding Miguel still, and he could feel how eager Tulio was in his grip.

"Are you nervous, Miguel?" Tulio whispered into his ear, softly kissing his neck.

"Of course I am," he admitted.

Tulio's fingers tightened around the length of him, and he gave a small gasp. Slowly, the darker-haired man worked his thumb over the head of his warm penis, and Miguel did the same, losing himself to temptation. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Tulio's urgently, parting his lips slightly. They explored each others' mouths with their tongues, tasting each other, breathing each other in.

"Do you know..." Miguel panted around kisses, "How long I've... waited for this?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. We're together. Don't think about the past right now," Tulio told him.

Miguel tensed eagerly with every movement of Tulio's hand, moaning softly as he worked his palm up and down, gaining speed. He was caught by surprise as Tulio withdrew his hand to remove his own pants. Miguel followed suit, feeling as though he couldn't undress quickly enough. He began to pull his red shirt over his head and Tulio grabbed it, assisting him. In no time, their clothing lay in a heap on the floor and the two of them lay skin-on-skin in the bed.

"Now, where were we?" Tulio reached for him again, and this time Miguel was ready for his touch. The warm, breathy, kisses on his neck felt like pure ecstasy. Gradually, the kisses moved along his collarbone, then down his chest, and his stomach, and finally Tulio's lips touched the head of his penis. Miguel let out an intoxicated sigh and closed his eyes as he felt Tulio's lips part, and his wet tongue slid over his shaft shamelessly.

"T - Tulio!" he gasped as Tulio began to move his mouth up and down, working the head with his tongue and using his fingers at the base. The pleasure was almost more than he could handle. He arched his back, grabbing the sheets in his fists. Another moan escaped his lips as Tulio sucked harder. He was trembling slightly, rocking his pelvis a little with the movement.

He reached out and snaked his fingers through Tulio's black hair, consumed by lust now. He wanted more, wanted harder, wanted this pleasure forever. He could feel it now, so close. "Tulio..." he repeated, tensing as his warm mouth on Miguel's cock slid down so that he was deep-throating it. "Tulio... I'm going to... If you don't stop... I'm... going to cum... In your mouth..."

His grip on Tulio's hair tightened. He squeezed his eyes shut again, and let loose one final moan as he came, and looked down to see the white liquid on Tulio's chin. He wiped it off with the back of his hand, pulled himself up to kiss Miguel once more, and then the two of them lay together, sweaty and panting hard.


	4. Chapter 4

For those of you sticking around this far, here's chapter four! Reviews greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

CHAPTER FOUR

There was a loud whinny outside, and Tulio opened his eyes slowly. Light was still creeping in through the window, but the amount of shadows indicated that at least an hour had passed. _I must have dozed off..._ he thought to himself, sitting up. Miguel lay curled up beside him on the bed, naked under the blanket, still fast asleep. Careful not to disturb him, Tulio climbed out of bed and pulled on his pants before wandering out of the room.

The whinny had come from Altivo, who had gotten impatient waiting outside. Tulio stepped out of the house and greeted the horse with a pat on his back. "Hey, buddy, hungry again already?" His own stomach growled in addition to this, and he laughed. "I think we should go get us some food. Yeah?"

He went back inside the house and into the bedroom. As gently as possible, he nudged Miguel awake, kissing his forehead gently. "Hey, you," he said softly as Miguel opened his eyes. "I'm hungry. We should go find something to eat."

"Mhm... good plan..." Miguel sat up and stretched with a huge yawn. After that, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his clothing. Tulio bent down and grabbed his own familiar shirt and vest, putting them on. Once the two of them were fully dressed, they made their way back out to Altivo.

"Tulio?" Miguel mumbled as they hoisted themselves onto the horse's back, "Where are we going to get food?"

"There should still be some food on the ship that hasn't spoiled yet. We can still go and help ourselves to that. After it all goes rotten... well, we know which vendors don't pay attention to their food."

"Are we going to steal?"

"What choice to we have? None of the gold we had made it to Spain with us. I wish it had, but we have to admit to ourselves that life is right back to how it used to be. We're dirt poor, and we won't survive if we don't steal and gamble."

"Everyone knows not to gamble with us anymore. We got caught having loaded dice, the word probably spread quickly around here."

"Well, we'll just have to hope a few people don't know who we are. We were gone for quite some time, they might've all forgotten. Cheer up, Miguel. We'll figure everything out. I'll take care of you."

Miguel smiled, "I know you will. You always have."

They rode along, and soon they were at the base of the giant ship. They'd never had the boarding ramp raised, not caring all that much about thieves, considering it wasn't really their ship. They walked onboard now, all three with grumbling stomachs.

The apple barrels were still good, but did look like they would be for much longer. Altivo crunched greedily away at them, while Miguel and Tulio managed to eat questionable-looking pears and stale bread. It was no feast, but it was good enough for now.

Once they'd all eaten, they re-emerged on the upper deck. The sun beat down hard on them, and Tulio leaned against the railing, staring out at the vast blue waters.

"I can't believe we sailed that far."

"I can't believe you actually kept us on course," Miguel laughed, leaning on the railing beside him. "Pretty impressive, really. It's a long way from here to El Dorado."

"Ya know... I really worry about them sometimes."

"Who?"

"The people there, in El Dorado. I know we blocked that entrance, but what if Cortez and his men found another way in? What if they moved all the rocks or something?"

"The waterway was the only entrance into the city. There's no chance Cortez made it in. And we stole the ship. Those men will all probably die on that island, and the people of El Dorado will be safe."

"I guess... I just wish there was some way we knew for sure."

"Maybe someday we can find it again."

"If Cortez can't get through, then we definitely can't."

"Okay, then, we just have to assume that everyone in El Dorado is fine."

"Easier said than done." Tulio sighed, "I still feel awful about Chel. I took her from her home and now she has to live in this strange new place."

"She'll be okay, I think," Miguel assured him. "She said she never wanted to see us again... All we can do now is hope her toughness keeps her alive."

"Yeah..." Tulio reached for Miguel's hand, feeling calmer the moment their fingers laced.

"Wait, do you see that?"

"See what?"

"_That!"_ Miguel pointed out towards the horizon. Tulio leaned forward, squinting his eyes to try and see.

"I don't see anything."

Miguel leaned forward, squinting and shading his eyes from the sun. "Now I don't see it anymore... I swear I saw a ship."

"So? This is a port. Of course there's going to be ships here."

"True, true. Come on, let's go see if anyone wants to gamble," He grinned and led the way off the boat.

Tulio followed him closely, feeling the familiar dice in his pocket. All this time, he'd kept them with him. They were the reason they'd ended up in El Dorado, really, and he wanted to keep for the memory if not for anything else. But now, it looked like his dear loaded dice would be put to use once again.

They soon came upon a crowd in an alley consisting of cheering men grouped in a circle. Both of them could tell right away that gambling was happening in that circle, and they steered towards it. Tulio pushed through the larger men with Miguel at his side, observing the situation.

Two men were at the center of attention. One of them had a huge pile of gold in front of him, and the other only had a measly handful. The one with the larger pile shoved about half of his gold to the center, "Fifty pesetas against all you have left. Favors you if you roll snake eyes or seven," he grumbled. The other man reluctantly pushed his gold to the center pile, and prepared to roll the dice. Tulio watched with excitement as the dice skipped across the ground, spinning on their corners before finally falling flat. Six.

"Ha!" The first man grabbed all of the gold, and the one who'd lost went to the back of the circle, humiliated. "Anyone else!?" The man called enthusiastically.

Tulio turned to Miguel, and they both nodded to each other before stepping forward. Tulio hoped that since they'd been gone for so long, and this man was unfamiliar, that they would be able to gamble here.

"Us!" Miguel announced. He eyed the gambler challengingly, and Tulio crossed his arms, lifting the corner of his mouth in a half-smile.

"Oh, really now? What've you got to bet? I see no gold." The man approached them, looming. He got right up in Miguel's face, and Tulio had to fight the instinct to push him away.

"We have... Um... Tulio?" Miguel looked to him, smiling nervously.

"We have a ship in the port," Tulio told him, keeping a good poker face. "We bet our ship against... how much do you have there, sir? Looks like about two-hundred pesetas total to me. I say we'll bet you a hundred pesetas against our ship. Favoring seven. _My dice_."

"Ha, you better say goodbye to that ship, boys. I'm on a lucky streak today." The man chuckled gruffly and squatted down in front of the dirt, pushing the money forward. Tulio crouched down, shaking the dice in his hand. Miguel stood slightly behind him, watching expectantly. Tulio was vividly recalling the last time they'd gambled, and hoped desperately that it wouldn't play out the same way again. He tossed the dice, and held his breath until they landed on a face-up five and two.

The man gaped at the dice, dumbstruck, but Tulio quickly snatched them back up, dropping them into his pocket. "Looks like you're lucky streak is over," He shrugged, and he and Miguel gathered the winnings, using the front of their shirts like baskets. They all but danced away, holding the gold closely.

"Ah, I missed the feeling of winning," Tulio laughed as they mounted Altivo. "I say we should hurry back to that house and stash it all. This much money will get us fresh food for weeks."

He could feel Miguel's head resting on his shoulder as they galloped along. Soon, they were back inside the little stucco building. This time, Tulio led Altivo inside with them to escape the heat of the day.

"I'm going to put this all under that loose floorboard we found the first time we stayed here. Strange to think how long ago that was. But ya know... I really think it's time we just called this place home." Miguel took the pesetas and went to hide them.

He'd only just hidden the money when they heard an unexpected commotion outside. Miguel came back into the room where Tulio was, grabbing his hand, and the two of them peered out the window. The could hardly see through the grime on the cracked windowpane, so they crept outside.

"Excuse me, sir?" Tulio stopped a man who was dashing down the street. "What's going on?"

"Ah, it's wonderful, I just got the news myself, I did," the man told him, "Cortez and his crew have returned to Spain!"

The man ran off in the direction of the port, and Tulio felt the blood drain from his face. He turned to Miguel, who looked equally pale. "Impossible..." he breathed, "We stole their ship! And there was only one there. How could they have made it back?!"

"We better go see for ourselves," Miguel replied, going back inside to get Altivo. "We might need to make a quick getaway though, if Cortez recognizes us. Be ready to run, Altivo, old boy. We're going to see your old master."

Altivo tensed and neighed unhappily, but allowed them to climb onto his back once again. "We won't let them take you, don't worry," Tulio assured him, patting the horse on his head as they started off.

"We need a plan," Miguel mumbled as they approached the crowd forming in the port. He wrapped his arms around Tulio's waist as they rode, and eventually they could plainly see a huge ship docked not far away from the one they'd stolen, and Cortez and his men were walking off of it now.

"Alright, plan, plan... If anything happens, we make a break for it on Altivo, head back 'home', grab the money, and run. We can't stick around here if we're wanted by Cortez himself now."

"O-okay," Miguel stuttered. They halted Altivo near the edge of the crowd, keeping their distance, using the wall of people as a shield if needed.

Cortez stood atop a barrel, clearing his throat loudly. "People of Spain!" he began, "My men and I were separated from the other ships in our fleet. I do not know what became of the men on those other ships, but may God have mercy on their souls. We alone reached the island where the legendary El Dorado was presumed to be. However, I found no proof of its existence."

Tulio and Miguel both let out a long sigh of relief.

"I did, however, meet a lone native of the island. Get down here!" He shouted back towards the ship.

Tulio gasped, and Miguel covered his own mouth to keep from shouting as Tzekel-Kan, the _former_ high priest of El Dorado, emerged from the ship. He walked down the ramp towards Cortez, and Tulio could see that he looked frail and dirty. This made Tulio feel a twinge of satisfaction, considering Tzekel-Kan hadn't exactly been _friendly_ to them.

"He tries to kill us, then he gets a glory ride to Spain with Cortez?" Miguel grumbled.

"Looks more like he's been sort of... enslaved, to me," he responded.

Tzekel-Kan reached Cortez, and the Spaniard shoved him down onto his knees so he was bowing. He then gripped his shoulder, yanking him back up. "This man claims to be the high priest of El Dorado. We conducted a very thorough search of the island, and I have concluded that this man is deranged, and a liar. I have so graciously taken him under my control, and I will shape him into a decent member of society."

"_Serves him right,_" Tulio breathed.

Cortez turned to look over at their ship - _his ship _- and Tulio swallowed hard, ready to dash away on Altivo.

"Now, you may wonder what else happened on that island. As you can see, my men here and I did not return on our own ship. The single ship we reached the island on was _stolen_ from us. Fortunately, our smoke signals were seen, and we were rescued. And this ship, this one here in the port, is _my stolen ship!_" He raised his voice to a shout, jabbing a finger in the direction of the ship, and Tulio and Miguel both cringed.

"Fellow Spaniards! If you see the men who arrived on this ship, arrest them! They're thieves! They _dared_ to steal from Cortez! They hid as stowaways, escaped when they were caught, somehow made it to the island, and then stole _my ship_ while we were exploring the island. _Catch the two men who arrived on that ship!_"

"I believe that's our cue to leave!" Tulio cried, and he kicked Altivo into a run. They galloped away from the crowd, back towards the little stucco house.

"I knew I saw a ship!" Miguel said unhappily. "I can't believe this. We're doomed!"

"Don't say that. We'll figure it out. Not the first time we've been outlaws. I told you, I'll take care of you," Tulio assured him, feeling a twinge in his heart upon hearing the despair in Miguel's voice.

They reached the house and all but jumped down from the horse's back. Miguel dashed in ahead of him, although he was close behind, and they pried up the loose floorboard to reach their hidden gold.

"How can we carry it all? It'll spill out of the front of our shirts if we're galloping through the streets," Miguel stared down at the pile.

"I have a plan. Put as much as you can into your pockets, put the rest in your shirt, and let's go."

Without question, Miguel did as he said, and the two of them ran back out of the house, where Altivo was waiting for them. They scrambled onto the horse and Tulio urged him into a gallop, and they were off.

"Tulio! What's the plan?" Miguel was trying his hardest to hold all of the gold. It jingled noisily with every step that Altivo took.

"My plan is..." He steered Altivo in the direction of a woman walking down the street with a bag of bread, and when they were close, he leaned down and snatched it right out of her grip, while simultaneously grabbing a few pesetas and tossing them at her, "Sorry! We need this!" He called back after her as they rode away. She shouted angrily at them, but they were already gone.

"Put the money in the bag and sling it over your neck and shoulder. That should keep up from losing it all. And... Keep the bread. We might need it."

Miguel nodded behind him and began stuffing the pesetas into the bag until all of the money was in there. "Tulio, where are we going?"

Suddenly, there were several loud shouts behind them, and a gunshot that echoed off the buildings. "That's them! The men who stole Cortez's ship! Get them!"

"Shit..." Tulio swore under his breath, "We're going wherever it is that gets us away from them. Hold on tight, Miguel. I don't want to lose you."

Miguel wrapped his arms tighter around his waist, and Tulio kicked Altivo's side to make him go even faster. They could hear more shouts and horses behind them - they were being closely followed. Tulio tried to swallow his fear and concentrate on getting them out of there. _What do we do now?_


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter took so long, but here it is! Reviews greatly appreciated, I really love to hear your opinions. Sorry if there's any historical inaccuracies about the housing and whatnot, that's not really the focus of the story here. Enjoy!

CHAPTER FIVE

"Here, come on, hurry!" Tulio grabs the fabric of Miguel's sleeve and drags him through a narrow alley. After hours of sneaking around, they'd managed to gain some distance between them and their pursuers, and now they were ducking through alleys and sneaking around corners, guiding Altivo along with them.

Miguel strains his ears, trying to hear the horses behind them. The noise is faint now, and the shouting her can make out sounds confused and distant. "I think we lost them," he tells Tulio, letting a triumphant smile creep across his face.

"We still need somewhere to hide," Tulio points out, "They haven't given up yet. We're wanted again, and if we get caught, Cortez will make sure we suffer. And he'll take Altivo back."

Altivo huffs and neighs unhappily behind them, his hooves clicking along on the ground. Tulio points towards a broken window overlooking the alley, "Think we could get in there?"

Miguel looks back at the horse, "Well, we could, but I'm not so sure about getting Altivo through a window."

Tulio sighs, "I'll climb up to make sure it's abandoned. Then we can sneak Altivo through the front door and block every way in. We should be safe."

"Be careful..." Miguel watches nervously as Tulio pulls a barrel up in front of the window and hoists himself up. Soon, his feet are all that he can see, and then he is gone. There's a loud crash from inside, and then Tulio's face pops back up in the window.

"Are you alright?" Miguel asks, frowning with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just broke something inside. It's totally empty. I'm gonna go get the front door open."

"Should I go around and wait with Altivo by the door?"

"No, no, don't stand out in the open any longer than you need to. I'll let you know when it's open. I'll be right back." Tulio's face ducks back down, and Miguel stares at the window for a few minutes, waiting for him to come back.

"Got it!" Tulio's smiling face returns, and Miguel hurries Altivo around the corner and through the rickety old door, quickly closing it behind them.

"Help me push this in front of the door," Tulio says, motioning towards the massive cabinet near the entrance. The two of them struggle, but manage to move it in front of the entrance. They then pry the doors off of a few cupboards, covering the window with them so nobody can see inside.

"Nobody saw us come this way, so we should be able to hide out here for a few days, at least. The window's not nailed up, so one of us can slip out and grab more food if we need it." Tulio is pacing in the man living area, rubbing his temples like he has a headache.

"Tulio, what if they find us?" Miguel asks, leaning against the wall and watching him pace.

"We'll be okay, we'll be okay... We'll been through worse. I mean, we've been chased by a giant stone jaguar... I think we should be able to handle a few men chasing us, right?' Tulio stops his pacing in front of him and steps forward, reaching out to place his hands on Miguel's hips.

Miguel cracks a smile, "Sure," he chuckles, leaning up to steal a quick kiss. "We can handle this."

Altivo is standing in the room, looking a little unhappy to be inside the dark and dusty old house. Miguel wonders how they're going to be able to keep the horse fed more than he's worried about them. They'd never had to go on the run with an animal before. Usually, they were able to hide out somewhere and make small food rations last for days before ever venturing outside. Now, they'd have to feed the creature who could eat almost a whole barrel of apples a day when he felt like it.

"Listen!" Tulio hisses suddenly. He pulls Miguel closer, wrapping his arms around him. They can hear muffled voices outside. Miguel buries his face in Tulio's shoulder, tuning in his ears to the noises beyond the house. Even Altivo freezes, his big ears twitches anxiously.

"Do you think they found us already?" Miguel whispers, fear creeping into his voice. Tulio shakes his head in response.

"They went this way, I tell ya! Go! We can't lose them! Cortez is offering a big reward for those men, you think we can afford to let them escape?!"

"They're not here, I swear, they turned up that other alley back there..."

"Fine! we'll go check the other alley!..."

The shouts fade, and Miguel lets out a huge sigh of relief. His heart is pounding hard in his chest, but he feels safer in Tulio's arms than he would feel anywhere else right now.

"A reward?" Tulio grumbles, "Of course there's a reward..."

"We were wanted for a hundred doubloons last time we were in Spain, remember?" Miguel reminds him, recalling the peeling WANTED posters bearing their faces hung up in the streets.

"That was just for getting caught stealing fruit... I wonder how much money it is now that we're personally wanted by Cortez?"

"It doesn't matter, because nobody's getting it," Miguel says determinedly.

Tulio finally releases him, stepping back and beginning to pace again. "You're right. They'll never catch us. We'll flee Spain if we have to. Remember how we almost ended up in Cuba?" he chuckles, "Maybe we can go to Cuba."

"How would we get to Cuba without a _ship_, Miguel?'

"Well, um, we could... disguise ourselves as Cortez's guards...and... sneak onto his next voyage...?"

"Miguel."

"Yes?"

"Remember the little voice?" he stops and slings an arm over Miguel's shoulders.

"Yes."

"Tell me what it's saying right now."

"It's saying... that's... a bad idea."

"_There_ ya go..." Tulio says with a sigh. "If we tried to sneak onboard with Cortez, we'd get caught. Everyone knows what we look like. A couple of outfits aren't going to hide our faces. And what about Altivo?"

They both look back at the horse, who snorts, as if to say, _yeah, what about Altivo?_

Miguel slumps back against the wall, feeling defeated. "It's never been this difficult before. All we had to do was be a little careful and make a mad dash through the streets if any trouble arose... Now we have a _horse_... and I'm worried we can't show our faces _anywhere_ now."

"Yeah... well, we did say the horse was a... surprise."

Altivo snorts again and trots away through the rickety old house. Miguel lets out a heavy sigh and slips the bag of money and bread off of his shoulders. "What should we do about this?"

"Well, there's always a trusty loose floorboard somewhere in these crappy houses..." Tulio wanders off in the direction Altivo went, and a few minutes later, Miguel hears him call out, "In here!"

He's crouching on the floor in what appears to be an old storage room. Sure enough, he pries up a loose floorboard as Miguel enters. "Stash that bag in here. If someone finds us here and we have to run and leave it behind, we'll be able to sneak back and grab it."

Miguel hands him the bag, and into the little space it goes, coins jingling against each other. Tulio replaced the floorboard on top, and anybody who didn't know it was there would never guess there was anything hidden underneath.

"Let's check the rest of this place out," Miguel suggests as Tulio gets to his feet. They examine the few rooms in the house, Altivo clomping around with them. It appears their new hideout has few rooms. There's the kitchen area - which is where they entered, the storage room, a filthy bathroom area, and a cramped bedroom.

"_Definitely_ not the temple back in El Dorado..." Miguel sighs, sitting down on the single bed available.

"That's it! Miguel!" Tulio suddenly lights up with the spark of an idea, grabbing Miguel's shoulders. The enthusiasm on his face is nearly overwhelming.

"_What's_ it?" Miguel questions, gazing wide-eyed up at Tulio.

"We can hide in El Dorado!"

"Um... what?"

"Just think! Cortez thinks there's nothing there. He'd never look for us there!"

"Tulio... _you_ think!" Miguel says earnestly, "We left El Dorado behind. We can't get back to it. We blocked it. On purpose."

"We _hid_ it! You and I know exactly what's behind that rockslide! I bet we could get through if we really tried!"

"Tulio..." Miguel sighs, "There's no way we could get back. Besides, why would you _want_ to go back? You wanted to come back to Spain!"

"I wanted to come back to Spain and live like a king," Tulio nods, "But that's not happening, is it? We're right back to square one... No gold. No respect. Every day here is a gamble for our lives. Back in El Dorado... we finally had somewhere we belonged. I realize that now."

"Okay... say somehow we _could_ get through the rockslide..." Miguel pulls on Tulio's sleeve so that they are now sitting side-by-side on the bed, "How would we even get back to the island? We don't have a ship, or any supplies."

"Wouldn't be the first time we've stolen a ship!" Tulio exclaims, "If we could sneak around and gather some supplies beforehand... I bet we could sneak into the harbor at night at steal the _same_ ship!"

"So that's your plan? We sail _back_ to El Dorado to hide from Cortez... forever?"

"That's... pretty much it! You wanted to stay behind in El Dorado anyways. Now we can go back and stay there... together." Tulio reaches for his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, cracking a smile.

"Well..."

"Just think about it, alright? Sleep on it." Tulio plants a light kiss on his lips, making him blush.

"Okay," Miguel says softly, nodding. He smiles, and the smile widens into a huge yawn.

"Come on, let's go to bed. We're both exhausted. We need our rest if we're going to be running around gathering supplies."

"Mhm..." Miguel curls up by Tulio's side, letting loose another yawn.

"Goodnight, Miguel." Tulio whispers, pulling the blanket up over the two of them.

"Goodnight, Tulio.I know we'll figure this out."

"Of course we will." Tulio wraps an arm around him and kisses his forehead. Miguel closes his eyes, feeling safe in the arms of his love.

Tulio remains awake long after Miguel has fallen asleep. He can hear the slow, steady, rhythm of Miguel's breathing beside him, and he hopes Miguel's dreams are peaceful. He can't stop worrying, wondering if their plan might fail or succeed. What if Cortez went after them? What about Chel? Would she want to return to El Dorado, her home? Or did she want to stay here in Spain forever?

He rolls over, restless. He doesn't want to be with Chel, he doesn't regret his feelings for Miguel at all, but he still feels guilty. Maybe they should find Chel and ask her if she wanted to go home?

Miguel stirs in his sleep, and quietly mutters, "Tulio..."

Tulio sighs and closes his eyes, willing sleep to come. No matter what, he has to protect Miguel.


	6. Chapter 6

I apologize for how long it has taken me to update! Thank you for waiting!

Your patience is rewarded, this is my longest chapter yet. Enjoy! Reviews and messages always greatly appreciated!

Note: Each chapter has been written in past tense, except chapter five got written in present tense. I'll go back and fix this eventually, sorry to anyone to noticed!

CHAPTER SIX

"Miguel." Tulio softly tapped Miguel's shoulder. Miguel mumbled something and awakened.

"What is it Tulio? Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm... I just... I feel lonely in that empty sort of way... I really need you right now. Please. I need this."

"Need?"

Tulio slid his hand up from under the blanket and interlaced his fingers with Miguel's. He guided Miguel's hand downwards, towards the tight erection under the cloth of his pants which couldn't possibly be ignored. "_Need_."

Miguel gave him a slow, breathy sort of kiss. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Who cares?"

"I shouldn't let you get any."

"But you're going to."

"Mmm, maybe," Miguel made an adorable little smirk, which failed to hide the scarlet blush on his cheeks. He let go of Tulio's hand and reached down, unfastening Tulio's belt while Tulio undid his.

"Such a shame, this would be much simpler if we slept in the nude," Tulio commented as they slide each other's belts off. Miguel's blush deepened. "_Tulio_." He said with a slight eye roll, almost scolding, though he couldn't really protest the idea entirely.

He snuck a hand beneath the fabric of Tulio's pants, fingers wandering over warm skin, nervous. It's not the same as last time. What if he did it wrong?

Tulio kissed him, noting his hesitation. "Go on."

Carefully, Miguel worked his fingers over the other man's shaft, using his thumb to play with the head. Tulio let out a small gasp and trembled, gripping Miguel's arm. "_Harder_," he urged, "You don't have to be gentle with me, Miguel."

Overcoming his hesitance, Miguel tightened his grip and increased the speed at which his palm was moving up and down, fingers playing. The satisfaction he felt, knowing it was _him_ making Tulio that hard, that eager, was incredible. He pulled Tulio's pants down further, so he could reach better.

At this, Tulio gripped his own shirt and pulled it off over his head, reaching for Miguel's next. Soon they were both bare-chested, and Miguel's eyes took in Tulio's muscle-toned body, lingering on the highly-defined V-cut Apollo's Belt. Tulio shifted to entirely undress now, removing his pants, forcing Miguel to stop for a moment. He slipped out of his own trousers and now each man was completely exposed to the other.

He reached to continue what he started, but Tulio grabbed his hand to stop him. "No. I want more."

"M-More? What's more?" Miguel stammered, and he could feel his face get hotter.

"You know exactly what I mean," Tulio murmured. He kissed the center of Miguel's collarbone, then he grabbed Miguel's waist forcefully and somehow positioned him so that Miguel was now bent over the side of the bed, with Tulio standing directly behind him.

"T-Tulio... Are you sure about... this?" He wasn't sure why he was so nervous now. He buried his face in his shoulder to hide how flushed his face was.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Tulio's voice whispered right beside his ear. "I've never been more sure about anything. Just relax." He planted a trail of kisses down Miguel's back, sending a shiver along his spine.

He placed his warm hands on Miguel's hips, and Miguel couldn't help but let out a small sound of surprise. Unprepared, he staggered forward a little when the first thrust came. Tulio leaned over him, gripping his hips firmly now, starting out slow. He kissed Miguel's neck and nibbled at his earlobe for a moment.

"_Nng!_" Miguel clenched the blanket on the bed in his fists, shaking. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, gradually becoming more adjusted to the movement. Tulio surprised him by lifting one hand from his hips and reaching around to grab Miguel's throbbing penis, moving his hand up and down in time with his each thrust he made.

He was going faster now, penetrating deeper. Miguel could feel him inside. It felt so _good_. He could barely think straight. Would he always get this flustered when they were together? He clenched his eyes shut, squeezing his fists tight, beads of sweat forming on his skin. They were both panting hard, and the two of them simultaneously let out a moan of pleasure.

"I want..." Tulio panted, "To... I'm going to..." He audibly sucks in a breath of air. "Inside you."

Miguel could only moan once more in response. He nearly couldn't handle Tulio's hand _and_ penetration at the same time. The feeling was unbelievable. He could feel how hard they both were. Tulio released his waist for a moment and smacked his ass, sending a ripple of motion through Miguel's pelvis.

"_Tulio!_" He cries, burying his face in the blanket, trying to control himself. "I'm... so... _Nng_! ... close...!"

"Yeah?" Tulio breathed, sounding satisfied. He thrust even harder, replacing his one hand on Miguel's hip.

"Mmm... mm... Tulio..."

Tulio himself suddenly gave a loud cry with one final, strong, thrust. He pulled away from Miguel and flipped him around again, pushing him backwards onto the creaky mattress.

"Um?" Miguel breathed, unable to form the whole question.

"You're not done yet," Tulio grinned, kissing him passionately. He kissed the head of Miguel's penis, running his wet tongue down the length of it.

Miguel shivered, emitting a gasp that turned into a blissful sigh.

Tulio gripped him in his warm, sweaty palm and moved his hand up and down almost expertly, using his tongue like last time. Miguel could feel each hot breath of air when Tulio exhaled. The pleasure was immeasurable. Miguel arched his back slightly, and felt the rush overtake him as he came.

Miguel drifted into the waking world and opened his eyes. His head was resting on Tulio's bare chest, and he could hear the heartbeat beneath his ear. Tulio was still fast asleep, looking so peaceful, Miguel wished the two of them could stay in that bed together forever. No Cortez. No worries about food or money. Just peace.

"Tulio, wake up!" Miguel whispered into his ear, kissing the skin above his collarbone. Tulio stirred and then yawned, opening his eyes and smiling when he saw Miguel there. His sleepy face was so adorable, Miguel couldn't resist - he propped himself up and planted a quick kiss on Tulio's lips.

"Well, good morning to you, too," Tulio grins, returning the kiss.

"So I thought about the idea. To go back to El Dorado," he said, tracing light patterns on Tulio's skin. "I think we should go."

Tulio sat up, eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, you were right about it all. And I think we could do it. Steal that same ship, or another one maybe. I know we could. We did it before. I want to go back to El Dorado with you and stay there. Forever."

"Oh, Miguel..." Tulio sighed and smiled, his eyes lighting up.

"We need to leave as soon as possible though," he said, reaching for his red shirt on the floor and putting it on. "Today, if we can manage. Maybe tomorrow or the day after... We need to make sure we have supplies."

Tulio reached for his own shirt and vest, ruffling his hair in the motion of pulling the shirt over his head. "Do you think we could steal enough in one day? To last the both of us _and_ Altivo the whole voyage? The only thing that was still consumable on that ship was the water reserves."

"Well then..." Miguel reached out and pushed Tulio's hair back into place with his fingers. "We need to sneak out of here and start gathering food."

Tulio's stomach grumbled, and he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Speaking of food, I think it's time we ate that bread."

There was a whinny and a snort from the other room, and Altivo came tromping into the bedroom to greet them. He nudged at them, sniffing around for food.

"What are we going to do about Altivo? I bet the poor boy's starved. Are you hungry, Altivo?" Miguel patted the horse's neck. "Sorry, no apples, bud."

Altivo snorted air in his face as if to say_ well fine then!_ And walked back out of the room. Tulio's stomach gurgled again, so he went to retrieve the bag of pesetas with the bread, bringing it back into the bedroom.

He sat on the bed cross-legged beside Miguel, opening the bag and peering inside at the contents. Luckily, it hadn't yet begun to go stale. He took out one of the small loaves of bread and broke off a bite-sized piece of it.

"Here." Tulio smiled, the kind of smile that lit up his eyes. He pinched the bite of bread in between two fingers and pushed it against Miguel's lips until he parted them. Miguel laughed and reached for his hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"I suppose we better be off then," Miguel stated as they each finished off a small loaf and shared what they could with Altivo.

Leaving the door blocked, they moved aside the boards blocking the window and carefully crept out. Altivo stood below the window inside, grunting nervously as Tulio disappeared from sight, and then Miguel did as well.

"We'll come back for you!" Miguel called back to the horse as they darted through the alley, keeping on high-alert for any soldiers. The stolen bag of pesetas was now slung over Tulio's shoulder. They figured they would have to steal some supplies, but they might as well pay for what they could, since they had money to spend.

The two of them darted through the shadows, hand-in-hand, making their way through the streets and alleys towards the market near the port. The plan was to buy as much food as they could, and make sure the same familiar ship was still in the port. Then, they would go back to their hideout, wait until night fell, ride Altivo down to the port, and steal away the ship.

"Okay, remember the plan if we're noticed?" Tulio whispered as they tiptoe around another corner, bringing the market into view now.

Miguel nodded. "Run back to the house. Don't look back."

"Right. Good." Tulio squeezed his hand and pulled him forwards.

They approached the first station in the market, which sold fruits and a few vegetables. They purchased two barrels of apples for 20 pesetas, and then moved on to another vendor. Next, they bought as much bread as they could with 40 more pesetas. Then, they bought some dried meats with 30 pesetas, and used their remaining 10 pesetas to get a bundle of mixed vegetables.

Miguel stuck close to Tulio the entire time, constantly scanning the crowd for any soldiers or civilians who might try to capture them. The same ship they'd stolen before was, indeed, still there. But it would have to wait. There was no way they could steal it in broad daylight, especially being wanted by Cortez. Luckily, nobody in the market seemed to know who they were, so they were safe for now.

Once all of their money had been spent, they stood around the two barrels of apples, holding everything else in burlap sacks.

"Here, tie the bags together and hang them over my shoulder... there. Now we can carry the barrels," Tulio hung the bags over his shoulder and hoisted up one of the apple barrels with a loud, effortful grunt. Miguel picked up the other barrel, and they began slowly walking back towards the old house.

"This isn't working, Tulio," Miguel grumbled. "I can barely see ahead of myself around this thing. And how are we going to run if we have to?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Come in here," Tulio led him down the first alley they passed, and then stopped, lowering his barrel to the ground. Miguel did the same.

"We can hide the heavy barrels here. Pick them up on our way to the port tonight." He opened up one of the barrels and grabbed one apple, tucking away in his pocket to give to Altivo later.

"Good idea." Miguel adjusted the weight of the sacks hanging off his shoulder, and the two of them crept stealthily back to their hideout, fortunately without incident.

They stopped below the window, and Tulio helped hoist him up through it. He stood on the counter below and reached back to help pull Tulio through behind him. Only when the two of them were standing safely inside together, with the window blocked again, did they finally relax. Altivo greeted them eagerly, and Tulio handed him the apple from his pocket.

"What now?" Miguel asked, watching as Altivo happily ate the apple from Tulio's hand.

"Now, we wait for darkness."

"Tulio..."

"What is it, Miguel?"

"I... I'm scared."

"Don't be scared." Tulio placed a hand on Miguel's neck and gently kissed his forehead. "I'll keep you safe. I'll protect you. Always."

"Do you think it's dark enough yet?" Miguel shifted one of the broken-off cupboard doors aside, peering out the window.

"I think so..." Tulio popped up beside him, looking out at the gray, shadowy world outside. "Are you ready?"

"Um, I think so." Miguel nodded and swallowed hard, trying to calm his nerves. So many things could go wrong with this plan. What if they were caught? What if they couldn't get the ship out of the port? What if... No, everything was going to be fine. He just had to keep telling himself that.

"Let's go." Tulio grabbed the bags of food from the market and together they pushed the cabinet away that was blocking the door, both of them mounting Altivo once they were outside.

"Now, Altivo, boy," Tulio whispered as he grabbed hold of the reigns, "We need to be quiet, alright? If you're _really_ quiet, we have more apples for you, got it?"

Altivo snorted, like he was saying _Of course I can be quiet! I'm an expert at stealth! _

Tulio rolled his eyes and urged Altivo into a soft trot. Miguel gripped Tulio's waist in front of him, careful not to let the bags fall.

They made it all the way to where the apple barrels were hidden without encountering any other people. The streets were almost entirely deserted, and the market ahead of them was empty, the shops closed for the night.

Tulio dismounted their horse, extending a hand to help Miguel down after him.

"Alright, this has got to be fast, and quiet, alright?" Miguel could see even in the dark that Tulio's face had gone ghostly-pale. "We carry the barrels onto the ship. Run back down to untie the tethers. Board it. Pull the ramp up and all that. And _go_. Just like we did when we stole it the first time. Got it?"

Both Miguel and Altivo nodded, anxious. Altivo whinnied quietly, and the three of them peered around the corner at the idle ship one more time.

"If anything happens..." Tulio sighed, distress written plainly on his face. "I love you."

Miguel blushed and conjured up the brightest smile he could manage. "I love you too, Tulio."

"Ready?" Tulio picked up one of the barrels.

Miguel hoisted up the other barrel with all of his might. "Ready!" He whispered back.

They ran for the ship as fast as they could while carrying the barrels with them. Altivo trotted ahead of them. Miguel could feel the barrel starting to slip from his hands, but he gripped it as tight as he could and followed Tulio down to the port past the market stalls.

Sweat beaded up on his forehead. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled with electricity. Anything could happen right now. These moments determined if they made it or not.

They made it up the suspiciously-inviting ramp, which was still pulled down just as they'd left it. Miguel nearly expected Cortez and fifty soldiers to be waiting for them aboard the ship, and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief to see that it was empty. They settled the barrels on the deck, and set the burlap sacks full of other food beside them.

He looked over to Tulio, who gave him a curt nod. The two of them darted back down the ramp, each going a different direction to reach the ropes tying the ship to the port.

Miguel glared at the giant sailor's knot before him, tearing at it with his fingers. The coarse rope scraped his knuckles, but he somehow managed to get it untangled. The rope swung free, and he ran back up the ramp, prepared to start raising the boarding ramp as soon as Tulio joined him.

Altivo galloped up onto the ship, followed by Tulio. They shared an excited grin as they began the pull up the ramp. Miguel could feel his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

"The sails!" Tulio urged him, running around the deck and readying the ship for sailing. They were just pulling down the last sail when there was a loud cry from the ground below.

"Miguel! Tulio!"

Both men stared at each other, utterly confused. Terrified. They were caught. They were going to be imprisoned. Enslaved. Maybe even killed. Cortez was going to come blasting into the ship with a rifle any second now...

"Wait... that voice..." Tulio's expression shifted, and he walked towards the edge of the ship slowly. Miguel suddenly recognized it, too, and swallowed hard. He followed close behind, holding the fabric of Tulio's sleeve in his fingertips.

"_Chel?!_" Tulio hissed down to her. She was standing on the ground right below the ship, hips cocked, glaring up at them.

"What do you think you're doing?" She snapped, crossing her arms. "_Going somewhere_?"

"Um..." Tulio chewed his lip nervously, reaching out for Miguel's hand for comfort.

"I know you're wanted. You two boys are fugitives now. I've been trying to find you ever since I found out. And now I have." Chel ran her fingers through her long, black hair, looking smug.

"_Miguel, the sails are ready, go to the wheel and get us outta here!_" Tulio turned and whispered into his ear so that Chel couldn't hear. Miguel nodded and rushed off to the helm, gripping the wooden wheel in his hands and starting to turn the ship away from the port. A huge gust of cold, night wind hit the sails and started moving them along.

"Get down here! I caught you! You can't get away! _Do you have any idea how much money you're worth?!_ I need that money! At least take me with you!" Chel squealed, throwing a few rocks at the ship which bounced off with no effect.

"I'm sorry, Chel! We have to go!" Tulio shouted back at her, moving away from the side of the ship. Chel continued screeching below.

"Guards! _Guards!_" She threw another useless rock. Suddenly, there was a loud _bang_! followed by the sound of many heavy footsteps.

"Miguel! We need to go! _Go!_" Tulio ran up to him, grabbing the wheel and yanking it to the side as hard as he could. The ship lurched, and for a moment Miguel thought they might topple over into the ocean before they could even get a yard from the port. But the ship easily corrected its balance, and another heavy gust of wind came in contact with the sails, pushing them quickly away from Chel screaming at them, the soldiers trying to shoot them, and the rest of Spain. Thankfully, the soldiers were all half-asleep and proved to not be the best shots.

The ship pulled away, gaining speed on the water. Altivo approached them and neighed unhappily, staring at the people cursing at them on the shore.

"It's alright, Altivo. Those mean people can't catch us. We'll be alright." Miguel stroked the horse's gray mane reassuringly, trying to convince himself just as much.

Tulio stood determinedly at the wheel, steering them away from Spain as fast as the ship could go. "Miguel, could you get me a map from below deck? Please?" He was trying to stay calm and serious, but the fear in his voice was still noticeable.

Miguel climbed the ladder down and scooped up the map Tulio had used to navigate the ship _to_ Spain before, which would now take them away from it. He also scooped up a compass, and handed both of them to Tulio back on the deck.

All seemed peaceful. They'd been sailing for nearly an hour now. They had a good, steady wind, and the waves around were calm, carrying them along their way. Tulio stayed by the wheel, ready to steer if they needed to correct their course. The coast of Spain was barely visible now.

Miguel sat slumped on the deck, leaning on Tulio's shoulder. His whole body was screaming for sleep, but the adrenaline pumping through his brain forced him to stay awake. Altivo was already fast asleep behind them, content after being fed a few crunchy red apples.

He gazed off at the shadowy sea, wondering how much longer it would be until sunrise. Five hours? Four? One? The stars twinkled welcomingly, pinpricks of light speckling the sky overhead.

"Oh no!" Tulio suddenly gasped, breaking the silence and making Miguel jump with surprise.

"What?' He asked groggily, twisting around halfway to look at his partner.

"I think... no. No way. Can you go get me the telescope?" He squinted his eyes, staring off across the dark waves. Miguel slowly got to his feet, looking off in the same direction, unable to see anything but water. Still, he climbed below deck again, this time returning with a brass telescope and handing it to Tulio.

He held it up to his eye, staring through it for a moment, before frowning deeply. "They're following us!" He groaned, handing the telescope to Miguel. "Look!"

Miguel peered through the telescope, focusing the lends so he could see clearly. Sure enough, another ship was on the waters, following their path.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! Wow, chapter seven...! I feel terrible for taking so long to post this one. Thanks to all of my readers, and a big shoutout to everyone who leaves reviews. Edits/comments are always welcome. (No really, nobody's said anything about the smut and I'm worried you all think it's terrible...). Knowing people are reading this keeps me going! ^_^" Enjoy!**

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I think they're gaining on us." Miguel frowned deeply, pressing the telescope to his eye once again. They'd been sailing for a few hours now, at top speed for El Dorado. Spain was far, far behind them. A faint glow of light was creeping over the horizon, signaling the approaching sunrise. Both of them were aching for sleep, but neither of them dared to rest longer than a few minutes. Despite their good speed, however, the pursuing ship remained fixed behind them in their path.

And they were getting closer.

Though they couldn't see anyone on board through their flimsy telescope, Miguel was positive that the dreadful Cortez himself was sailing it. And Chel - oh, that little traitor! Sure, Miguel hadn't been particularly _fond_ of the girl before. But never would he have expected she would be seeking them out to collect the bounty all for herself. And to think - he'd felt bad that they were leaving her behind! Now, he couldn't wait to put as much distance as possible between her, Cortez, and anyone else on that ship following them.

Tulio was pacing back and forth in front of the helm, gripping the map tightly in one hand, the compass in the other. Occasionally, he would step up to the bulky wooden wheel and make an adjustment to keep them on course. For the hundredth time, Miguel was grateful that Tulio knew how to navigate. Without him, Miguel would be lost at sea forever, drifting farther off course with each passing minute. But he trusted Tulio, through all hi current panic, and it reassured him that they'd sailed this distance before.

"We can't let them catch us..." Tulio grumbled, his thudding steps on the deck accenting each word.

"They won't," Miguel stated flatly, swallowing the lump in his throat with uncertainty. Maybe they wouldn't catch up to them over open waters, but what about when they reached El Dorado? After all, Cortez knew exactly where the land was. They would follow them as lazily as they pleased and find the two of them and Altivo with ease. And what then? How could the two of them fight of Cortez and his soldiers, all alone, with nowhere left to run?

Miguel slumped down, folding up the telescope and tucking it inside his shirt. His eyes were weary, and it was growing increasingly difficult for him to see straight. If he closed them for more than a few moments, it was quite possible he would fall asleep on the spot. He swung his head around to see Altivo sleeping on the far end of the deck. His head bobbed forward, fighting sleep, and he slapped his own face gently to stay alert.

Tulio, of course, observed this. He paused momentarily in his pacing and crossed his arms. "Miguel, you should eat something and get some rest."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll stay up for now, and you can take over for a while later. If we both force ourselves to stay awake forever, we won't know which way is up by the time we reach the island, let alone which direction to follow. Here - " He walked over to where the barrels of food were, and withdrew a small slice of dried meat. "Eat this first." He crossed back over to where Miguel was slumped against the railing and handed it to him, their fingers brushing lightly in the brief transaction.

Miguel mumbled a thank you - at least, he thought he did, he wasn't sure if the words were able to form sound, with how exhausted he was. He consumed the food in just a few minutes, and leaned his head back against the railing. His heavy-feeling eyes fluttered closed.

"You know, you could go below deck and sleep in a cot," Tulio offered, but no sooner had the words been spoken than Miguel was already asleep.

By the time he awoke, the dark sky was tinged a range of pinks and oranges, and the night had slipped away. Immediately, he pulled himself to his feet, gripping the railing. Even without the telescope, he could plainly see that they were still being followed. He swore under his breath and rubbed at his sore neck, turning back to face Tulio. The dark-haired man was slumped over on the wheel, barely awake himself at that point.

"Tulio, you look absolutely unable to function anymore. I think it's your turn for rest," Miguel insisted. "I'll keep us on course for a while, okay? I think I can handle it for a bit." He slipped Tulio's arm over his shoulders for support and lifted him away from the helm, guiding him over to where Altivo was still sleeping peacefully. With a faint, wordless, murmur, Tulio curled up against the horse's warm side and closed his eyes.

Forgetting the severity of their situation for a minute, Miguel's face melted into a smile of adoration as he gazed down upon his love. All he wished for them was peace. Somewhere they didn't have to worry about soldiers, or vengeful ex-girlfriends, for that matter. They just wanted to be happy together. Was that really too much to ask?

Leaving Tulio to his well-earned sleep, Miguel made his way back to the helm, taking hold of the wheel. Fortunately, the waters were calm for now. The sky was mostly clear overhead, with only a few drifting gray clouds interrupting to vibrant morning colors.

They sailed along like that for several more hours. Miguel stared determinedly ahead, trying not to let himself look back very often - although he failed. He sure hoped they were going the right way. How long had it been? Could he wake Tulio soon?

That question answered itself, in a sense. He heard a loud whinny from Altivo, followed by a frustrated grumble from Tulio. Miguel peered at him anxiously as both man and horse wandered over to him.

"Did you get enough rest?" he asked.

Tulio nodded slowly. "I'm... hungry though. Come on, Altivo." He led the horse over towards the food barrels and burlap sacks. He offered several apples and some carrots to Altivo, who greedily gobbled them up. He then extracted some dried meat and bread for himself, shuffling back towards Miguel with a bite of bread in his mouth.

"Do you want me to take over?"

"Um, well, perhaps. Yes. Honestly I have no idea if we're still on course or not."

"Let me see," Tulio took the map and compass from him. Miguel wasn't sure what he was doing with them or how he was checking them, but after a few minutes, Tulio gave a curt nod. "We're right on course still. Good job, Miguel. I'm proud of you."

Miguel beamed like a praised puppy momentarily. But it was brief - Tulio turned around and let out a dismayed groan. As expected, their pursuers were still close behind. Tulio swore under his breath and pounded the wheel with his fist.

"Tulio... what are we going to do?" Miguel asked hesitantly. He stood paused behind Tulio and to his left, ready to walk away but waiting for his reply.

Tulio released a great sigh and rolled his shoulders. "I don't know," he admitted, sounding defeated. "I don't know what we could possibly do right now. All we can do is keep going and hope for some sort of miracle. We've made it this far, we can't surrender now."

"...Alright." Not knowing any words of comfort he could possibly offer, Miguel strode across the deck over to where Altivo was, staring out at the waves and still chewing some of the food Tulio had given him.

Their miracle came that evening.

The fleeting gray clouds that had been drifting through the sky all day gathered together overhead. They watched the sky darken with unease, and shared terrified glances as the light ocean breeze turned into a salty gust.

"Tulio..?" Miguel whimpered, looking up with unease.

"Storm clouds." Tulio's grip tightened on the steering column. "Get all of the food below deck. I don't want any of it going overboard if this gets rough."

Without argument, Miguel nodded and made his way over to the barrels and sacks of food. He took several trips below deck to relocate all of the supplies, but soon everything was safely stored beneath them. Altivo was trotting around the deck nervously, and they could see the waves around the ship beginning to stir with a more vicious motion. The tender blue sky was now replaced entirely with varying shades of dark gray blended with ominous black shadows.

Miguel stood by Tulio's side, placing a trembling hand upon his shoulder. "Tulio, can we handle this?"

Tulio nodded curtly. "We have no choice. Failure in this situation means death. We have to tough this out. It's gonna get bad, and soon. The wind is picking up fast. We can only hope that Cortez will get lost in the storm."

"What if they catch us? While we're vulnerable?"

"You can't think like that, Miguel."

"Sorry..." Miguel let out a sigh riddled with fear and anxiety.

"Hey, don't look that way..." Tulio turned to see the pained expression on his face, although he met it with one of his own. "We can get through this. We've come this far. We made it out of El Dorado, sailed this very ship all the way back to Spain, dodged Cortez... now we're just doing the same thing in reverse. Easy."

"I hope you're right."

"I _am_ right. Trust me." Tulio slid an arm around hi waist and pulled him close, planting a firm kiss on his lips. "Better?"

Miguel grinned sheepishly. "A little, yeah."

"Alright, good." Tulio cracked a smile to see the predictable blush creep across Miguel's cheeks.

Just as he spoke, a fat raindrop landed on Miguel's nose. He gasped and twitched in surprise, wiping off the drop with his fingertip. His blush quickly disappeared and he went paler than before. Nervously, he clung to Tulio. "I trust you to get us through this safely," he told murmured.

On deck in front of them, Altivo let forth a loud snort as the cold raindrops began hitting his flank. He stomped over to them, seeking some sort of refuge. Miguel wished they could take the horse below deck, but he couldn't go down the ladder. If it got too bad, they could keep him in the captain's cabin above deck. In fact, it was probably a better idea to do it now.

Miguel grabbed hold of Altivo's reins and guided the horse across the deck towards the cabin. "What are you doing?" Tulio called after him.

"Poor horse deserves to stay dry, doesn't he? I'm putting him in here." He gestured to the cabin as he approached it with the horse in tow. He opened the door with his free hand and urged Altivo inside.

"Now, stay here, alright boy? You'll be nice and warm and dry in here." he patted his furry neck affectionately and left to rejoin Tulio at the helm.

The rain was intensifying quickly. He clung to Tulio, careful not to get in his way of steering the ship. The dark-haired man stood rigid, intent on guiding them through the growing treachery of waves. Behind them, it wasn't evident whether or not the other ship was struggling yet.

The first loud clap of thunder made the two of them nearly jump out of their skin. Miguel covered his ears and gazed up at the swirling dark sky, watching for lightning. electricity lit up the clouds in a show that might have been impressive had it not posed such a danger. The ship rocked on the waves, and it was difficult for them to stand upright where they were.

"The sails, Miguel! Get the sails!" Tulio commanded over the din. "The wind is going to blow us off course!"

The two of them darted about the ship, frantically closing up the sails as quickly as they could. Once they were all folded, they could feel the difference. Cortez's ship still had it's sails billowing about in the wind, and they could only hope that their enemies would be led astray by the mad gusts.

The two of them stumbled sideways as the ship tossed one way, then the other. There was a blinding flash of lightning, followed closely by a peal of thunder so terrible that it shook the ship.

"Look!" Tulio cried suddenly, pointing a finger in the direction of the other ship. Miguel swung his head around, his rain-drenched hair slapping his face with the movement. Through the sheets of rain, he could just make out the figure of Cortez's ship. It rocked madly on the rolling waves, like a child's toy boat struggling to stay afloat. Briefly, he wondered if their ship was fairing just as poorly.

Lightning snaked across the sky again, and they both squeezed their eyes shut against the flash. They watched, awestruck, as a white tendril of electricity snaked down from the dark mass of thunderclouds and collided with the wooden mast of Cortez's ship. They could hear the loud_ crack!_ even from this distance. They held each other tightly, unable to tear their eyes away from the sight. The mast erupted in flames, which spread quickly to the sails. Miguel swore he could hear screaming, but surely not, from this distance? The fire ate its way down the tall mast and consumed the sails, leaving them in rags. It leapt down to the deck, and Miguel turned away, horrified. He buried his face in Tulio's chest, breathing heavily.

"Oh, it's terrible, it's terrible..." he muttered, horrified.

Tulio patted his back in a way that was meant to be reassuring. "They can't catch us now, Miguel. Don't sympathize for them. They would have killed us if they'd caught up to our ship."

"I know, but..."

"It's alright, Miguel."

They rode out the rest of the deafening storm without another word. Miguel knew that Tulio was right, that he shouldn't feel sorry for any of them. It still struck terror in him to see the other ship go down in flames. He'd seen some lifeboats go down, so perhaps there were some survivors. No matter, though. They could sail to El Dorado without constantly looking over their shoulder now.

Eventually, the storm cleared. Tulio checked the map and compass about a dozen times, and finally confirmed that they'd only gone slightly off course. He corrected for it right away, and they sailed on through the next few days in peace.


End file.
